First, no updates on the ongoing contract talks with the four that the team opted to retain.

And, second, even though the Sharks are free to offer Marcel Goc a contract after July 1 if they want him back at maybe a lower price, that just isn’t going to happen. So it’s not just a matter of economics.

“I think it’s probably time for him to move on for another opportunity,” GM Doug Wilson said of Goc. “He’s very professional and he’s a good man, but I think his game has leveled off with us. We want to go in a different direction and have a different mix on this team.”

Goc played in 265 games in four seasons as a Sharks. He earned praise for his role in the faceoff circle and on the penalty kill, but the offensive side of his game lagged as he never came close to matching the modest eight goals and 22 points he scored in his rookie year.

Wilson did, however, leave the door open for further contract talks with some of the players, but we didn’t go into specifics.

Plihal had seven goals and 16 points in 89 NHL games with the Sharks over the past three seasons.

“Thomas kept running into some injury issues,” Wilson said, “but we’ve got other players who have come along and potentially are about to go by him.”

Goc was a first-round draft pick (2001) as were two other players who did not get qualifying offers, Lukas Kaspar (2004) and Mike Morris (2002).

“That’s just the reality of it,” Wilson said of the fact the three players did not pan out. “We have an 18 year old draft in the NHL, unlike the NFL where the average age is 22. . . . You look anywhere in draft history and that’s the way it works.”

Wilson also praised Greiss’s work, particularly in the second half of last season.

“He’s right on the growth patten we’ve had with our other European goalies,” Wilson said. “He stepped up and had a great stretch run.”

The Sharks, of course, are still pursuing Swedish free agent goalie Jonas Gustavsson. Wilson said San Jose is still in the running. Reports citing Swedish newspaper article that said only Toronto and Dallas are still in contention have been challenged in Denver as well.

*****Team USA named its support staff today and head trainer Ray Tufts and equipment manager Mike Aldrich will be representing San Jose at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. The fact Ron Wilson is the head coach probably had a little to do with that. Aldrich’s son, Brad, the video coordinator for the Chicago Blackhawks, also will have that same role with Team USA.

David Pollak

David Pollak has been following the NHL forever and at the Mercury News as an editor or reporter since 1987. For almost a decade he wrote about the Sharks as the paper's Fan in the Stands before joining the sports department in 2001. He became the Sharks beat writer before the 2007-08 season and began this blog at that time. You can also follow him on Twitter at @PollakOnSharks.